Apocalypse Now


Lets all laugh at ...

When the former club known as Rangers went down the waste tube, the media, even the SFA heralded that this would bring the apocalypse. The four horsemen would destroy any credibility the Scottish game still had. Scottish clubs would go to the wall just like they had done.

Over two years later the game in Scotland is still here, it's not exactly thriving but that was never going to happen unless a substantial investment was made in the form of a TV deal. A deal that football in this country actually deserves and not some form of handout to keep us all afloat.

Irrespective of the doom and gloom merchants who forever demean our game, forever criticise and slight, Celtic have qualified for the group stages of the Champions League two years on the trot, also reaching the last sixteen on one occasion with a famous victory over Barcelona on the way. This achievement has not only brought field success but financial success on a scale not seen since Strachan.

The Hoops just recently published their interim results for the 6 months from June to December. You can be forgiven to open your mouth in awe and shock and even question if the figures are true. Celtic made pre-tax profits of £21.3M an increase of just over £6M from the year before. Granted a large portion of this came from the sale of Wanyama, Hooper and Wilson. Even then for a Scottish club without the mighty Gers to be flourishing and prudent in these apocalyptic times is truly remarkable.


Sale of assets the only way to compete?

The standout feature of the media in this country is its urge to report all things negative; one would think that 20M in pre-tax profit would be a staggering headline on the BBC. In the midst of teams in England making huge losses, both Man City and Chelsea. Yet the reported BBC headline was Celtic’s revenues fall, as if to highlight some form of failure by the board. This constant pessimism highlights the inferiority complex we in Scotland either feel or have to deal with on a daily basis.

Celtic has a positive net bank balance of £5.7M. I would hazard a guess that there are very few top clubs who could boast as impressive a statistic. The interim report also highlights that one must not trust paper reports, or media valuations of transfer fees. Investment in personnel stood at 5M. So the combined cost of Balde, Pukki and Boerrigter cost the club 5M. There were reports in the media that these three players had cost Celtic as much as 6.5-7M.


Will Lenny be given the funds he requires?

However while the balance sheet looks rather peachy there is a fine line when running a football club. Success off the pitch must also coincide with success on the pitch. Celtic have been knocked out of European football before Christmas, we have been knocked out of the two domestic cups before the quarter final stage. There comes a time when financial prudence can only take the club so far. That peak came last season when Celtic qualified for the last 16 of the CL.

In what seems a common trait in Celtic’s recent history we never seem to build on success, there is always a peak and then a recession. While selling players is now in Celtic’s best interests there must be adequate reinvestment into the playing squad to raise the standard back to the level it was before or to improve it.

This was not done adequately in the summer, for all the reports we got of ‘we tried and failed’ it seemed that Lennon was not backed, he was not given the appropriate funds to replace the stars he had lost.

We as a club approach another impasse this coming summer. The decision that needs to be made is how exactly do we see ourselves, are we simply a club that makes up the numbers when we qualify for European competitions? Or are we a club that belongs to dine and compete with Europe’s elite.

Celtic’s finances have never been in a better and more secure state, the team on the pitch however is regressing, will it be allowed to continue in this fashion or will Lawwell stay true to his word and give the manager the funds necessary to make occasions like the last 16 a realistic ambition. If recent quotes are anything to go by funds of up to 8M pounds are available for a single player as long as it represents value. The trouble may be finding the player that Lawwell deems worthy enough. ​